Community Brag Posts

Simple Day Bed Modified with rail for toddler coming from a toddler size bed.

Finished it in one weekend, but worked all days, both days. My little clients are beyond happy with the results.

This is my first build and I had so much fun!  I am now officially addicted to DIY and woodworking!  

I started off with a couple of problems right out of the gate but, I really wanted to make this for my Grandaughter for Christmas.  The first problem was the ceiling in her room is 7 feet 6 inches  high.  So, if I lowered the height then the loft platform became too low to install over a twin bed.   It didn’t allow for enough headroom over the mattress.  Plus, I didn’t want her to sleep on a mattress that was on the floor. So, I raised the platform to 48 inches and modified the roof so that I would be able to fit the Alaska Cabin Twin storage bed underneath.  

I also modified the size by increasing the platform dimensions to 40”x48”.   Doing that allowed me to comfortably fit the bed underneath. 

 I was lucky to find laminate flooring on clearance at Lowe’s. I paid five dollars for an open box. I used it to cover the plywood floor. I also used it for the roof by just nailing it to the 2x4s. 

 I wanted my granddaughter to be  able to paint, use her markers, and be as messy as she wanted without restrictions.  One wall is made from dry erase board with 1x4s as shelving to frame it out.  (I used Ana’s flip down desk plans as a guide for the shelving.) The back wall is slat wall from Menards.  I just spray painted it hot pink.  The third wall is a 12 inch shelf framed out by 2x4s. The last wall is leftover 1x3 and 1x4 boards that I stained and painted. 

 My daughter didn’t like the first ladder so I moved it to one side. I stained the ladder with Minwax classic gray. I also used the classic gray stain for the cabin bed frame.  The pink on the cabin bed is  Sherwin Williams “hibiscus.”

 My granddaughter and I finished the bed this evening. She loves helping me “work “in the garage. We ended our build by adding a monster free zone. Monsters will be zapped if they try to enter the clubhouse or the bed! Thank you Ana! 

Mary

It was time for my younger son's bedroom re-do. He had waited patiently, and was pretty clear in his requests. He wanted color, and dinosaurs. Not just any dinos, but "real" ones--no babyish dinos allowed, said my future paleontologist. Once he saw the loft bed that I was considering for his older brother--he was hooked. We negotiated the paint colors and we were off.

I used the cabin loft bed and the chelsea designs for this bed.
I used the Chelsea bookcases with 2x3s as legs instead of 2x2s (due to quality). This altered the shelf measurements some, but I simply made my adjustable shelves to plan.
The biggest thing to note about the Chelsea bookcase supports is that you need some sort of bracing to eliminate side-to-side wobble. I used a 2x2 and eliminated most all of it, but you need to take this into account!

As for the cabin loft plan part--this was used in the bed portion of the plan. I did used the non-mortising bed rail brackets to attach the side rails for ease of use.

Ladder-Oh the ladder and the angles gave me fits! LOL. I ended up doing a straight ladder and attaching it to the bookcase support. It's fine. Just FYI-don't paint your ladder a light color if dirt bothers you. The rungs are already showing the dirt from little boy feet, so it may get painted again!

I painted the side panels of the bookcases with chalkboard paint. If I did it again I think I would have attached a smooth piece of thin board(the name escapes me right now) and painted that, as the wood tends to catch the eraser some.

A customer of ours emailed the plans for this console table to me from Ana's site and asked if I could build it for her. I must say, the plans were laid out so well I believe my 8 year old could have built it. Well done Ana!

I made the color scheme what the customer asked for and I think it turned out pretty decent. I also have to say that I would typically wing it when it came to building stuff, but after seeing how the plans on this site are laid out so well, I will definitely be changing my practices. I have read a lot of great helpful tips, tricks, and hints on this site. I've only been doing this for about 6 months, so I need all the help I can get!

Thanks again, Ana, for being such a great source of information and inspiration!

very easy high quality build. I feel this piece will stand the test of time, and for so little in cost.

A nice and easy project for little people to enjoy getting in and out of chairs without worrying parents!

Used a router first time to soften the edges of the chairs and table. Also used a plug maker to fill up the counter sink holes. Love that stuff.

Didn't want to make all the chairs at once to figure out how I can improve on my process, and now I know that I should
1. Paint the slats prior to installing
2. Use router on the slats prior to installing
3. Use kreg jig to install the slats

Planning on making more chairs, or one more chair and 2 stools. Not sure yet.

As always, painting took the longest and I am not done yet. Will give a Minvax polycrylic gloss finish before putting into use.

First project. Modified so that the seat is more narrow.

I made this cabinet to house my murphy bed.  I used the Toy or TV Armoire plans as a start and adjusted the measurements as needed.

Modified to fit dimensions of some reclaimed lumber. Substituted some threaded steel rods instead of the wooden X.

I was living in an apartment in Waco with my newly minted husband, and was gearing up for a move to Lake Jackson after his graduation from school. I had this horribly flimsy Walmart platform bed that was at the end of its life. After I read a post on a favorite blog mentioning my now hero, I checked out the projects on Knock Off Wood. “Hmmm,” I thought, “I think I can do that!” So, I found the perfect plans for the queen-sized Farmhouse Bed, and went to visit my parents. Print-out in hand, I showed my dad what I had in mind. He was totally on board, and said he even thought he had all the lumber we needed in his barn. And he did! We spent a Sunday afternoon shopping his barn, and then loaded it all up to drive over to his shop to do all the cutting.

Here’s the best part. I then loaded every single cut piece of lumber into my Honda Civic and drove it back to Waco. Yes, people. I didn’t even have an SUV, I had an economy size 4-door sedan. And I fit all that lumber in it! As soon as I got home, I was raring to go. Unfortunately, the Husbane was not. He was grumpy, and moaning about trying to put a bed together in an apartment. So I huffily said “Screw You!” and went on my merry way. Okay, that’s a total lie. I actually cried and shamed him with my words into helping me, because he was ruining this exciting new prospect with his bad attitude. Feeling like a horrible person, he apologized and took me to McCoy’s to get all the screws and hardware we needed to put this behemoth together. We put the headboard together as a team, and once I learned just how to use a power drill (it really was my first time ever!) I put the footboard together all by myself. I was so proud! Then we put on the side boards, figured out the rails and slats, and pushed the last screw in the next day. For just $16, a lot of free barnwood, and gallons of sweat and tears, we had our very first hand made bed. And I couldn’t be prouder.

This a Anna White.com Inspired Folding Chalkboard design. I just made a couple slight modification. Slightly larger, and tray to hold chalk and eraser.

This one was build for my two year old nephew as his birthday gift! I think Wyatt and his brother Marshall will get a lot of good use out of the gift.

Anna and John thank you for providing such a fantastic site!

Best Regards,

Bob C

"Remember Working SAFELY IS the most important thing you can do!"

I changed the plans just slightly. I used 2x4's for framing and enlaged the shed somewhat and added a floor. I also used a different type of roof to handle the amount of rain in my area.

Went to a local farmer, who had a barn falling down and asked if I could get some wood. He allowed me to take a few pieces and turned it into a corner cabinet for my wifeWent to a local farmer, who had a barn falling down and asked if I could get some wood. He allowed me to take a few pieces and turned it into a corner cabinet for my wife

Built this cute doll bed for a friend's daughter's 3rd bday. I hear she loves it :)

The bedding (which took the longest) was made from my stash, followed loosely the plans at
http://fromanigloo.blogspot.com/2010/11/dolly-bed-fitted-sheet.html

and http://fromanigloo.blogspot.com/2010/11/dolly-pillows-and-pillowcases.h…

I wish I had a nailer; this project would have been faster with that. Predrilling etc took more than I care.

Mostly used left over 1x3s, and the rest was brand new pine.

Note to self: don't sit in chair out back when you have a dog that likes to lick. This chair puts you right at licking height....

This was a fun project to build! The plans were very easy to follow and the table and chairs turned out just like they were supposed to. I ended up buying a Kreg jig to put the furniture together. The jig cost $40.00 at Home Depot and it was well worth it because I'll be able to use it on other projects. The plans showed the furniture being prepped and painted but my daughter wanted the pieces to look close to their dining room table so I took the time to stain and varnish them. I built the table and chairs out of pine and I used average dimensional lumber so the whole project only cost around $35.00. If you're looking for good children's furniture these would be good to build.